Batman Returns

The social media streets claimed this wasn't a Christmas movie. I think the streets have gone blind because this is very clearly a Christmas movie, but I digress. Haven't seen this follow-up to Tim Burton's '89 Batverse entry in years and it still holds up after rewatching. An interesting mix of themes ranging from goofy and campy to the usual gloom and doom, the highest points of the film would have to be the cinematography, score and its villains. Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito (the latter of whom I feel was wrongly nominated a Razzie for his work) bring chaos, freaked-out horniness, malice and deeply-rooted trauma to their respective characters of Catwoman and the Penguin, as their story arcs are the most grabbing pieces of the movie. Christopher Walken - no surprise here - is also solid as shady mayor Schreck (say his name three times and the ogre will appear instead), and probably has one of the most comedic deaths in the Batverse - like something out of another Burton joint (Beetlejuice). The low points: Michael Keaton's Batman feels more restrained and doesn't have as much to do here unlike his previous outing; he's more of a witness and pawn to the chaos rather than someone who should play a bigger part. Nonetheless, of the two Burton entries I still think I prefer this one to the 1989 edition (banger Prince score be damned).